Tyr
Tyr Generelt History The Government Crime and Punishment Trade and Commerce Water The Trademan's Districts The Merchant District The Nobel's Quarter The Warrens Generelt Tyr lies in a small valley among the foothills of the Ringing Mountains. Although not the largest city of the Tablelands, it's considered one of the most important due to its political clout, location, and great (by Athasian standards) reserves of iron ore in the nearby mountains. A single caravan trading route connects Tyr to the network of roads that link the major cities of the Tablelands. This is not to imply that elven traders do not use other routes of their own devising, but there is only a single navigable pass for the larger caravans. Until recently, the city of Tyr had been ruled by the great sorcerer-king Kalak. Following the death of Kalak and the ensuing war with Urik (see History below), the people of Tyr have begun the reconstruction of their city amid a storm of change. The government has undergone sweeping reform. Trade and commerce, long neglected due to Kalak’s obsession with the construction of his ziggurat, are on the rise as iron once more flows from the mine. The games have begun again as well, now the province of freemen, not slaves, where the only deaths are accidental. Even the more secretive societies of Tyr have emerged from the aftermath with renewed energies. This is not to say that “all is well” in Tyr. The city still faces an uncertain future. Divergent voices sound within the Council’s chambers. Food and water remain scarce, and many have no work or decent lodgings. Mobs of looters and thieves roam the city for, as the saying goes, “Freedom alone will not fill yer belly!” Further, many of Tyr’s defenders perished in the war against Urik, leaving the city vulnerable to outside attacks. Whether these changes are signs of vitality or desperation depends on one’s perspective. As a role-playing campaign base, Tyr offers exciting opportunities for the player characters to become involved with the changing life of the city. The economy is quickly evolving from a slave-based system to one that revolves around free men and women earning their livings. Only time will tell whether the changes now underway will bear fruit or will be swept away by the sands of fate. One thing is sure, the unforgiving world of Athas demands change. Those who adapt, survive. Those who do not are consumed. To appreciate fully the difficulties Tyr now faces, it becomes necessary to review the city’s past. History The specifics of Tyr’s historical development vary with the speaker. Senior Templar Timor on the History of Tyr Templars and the informed public know well the story of how the great sorcerer-king Kalak saved Tyr. Tyr was no more than a barbaric outpost before Kalak arrived. The ruling nobles, rife with greed, fell to fighting amongst themselves and divided the city in civil war. As if that were not enough, the neighboring cities, sensing weakness, attacked the fledgling city intent on seizing the valuable iron mines. Beset by civil war and besieged on all sides, Tyr had nowhere left to turn. ''“'In this time of trouble Kalak, a mighty sorcerer and visionary, united Tyr under his power. He brought peace to the city, a peace that was enforced by his faithful templars. Yes, he was a tyrant. His rule was often brutal, What of it? Life is harsh. The strong survive. The weak perish. It is the natural way of things; Tyr and its people are the stronger for it! Without the just rule of the King and his loyal templars, the masses would be little more than beasts scratching at the land for their pitiful existence. Under King Kalaks rule, the'' squalid warren of Tyr grew in to the magnificent city one can see today. The Golden Tower, Kalaks opulent ziggurat, and the gladiatorial arena will stand forever as reminders of his great power. 'Matthias Morthen of the Veiled Alliance ' ''What was Tyr like before that tyrant, Kalak? Not the dusty wasteland that lies before you now, I tell you! Water flowed freely, above the ground. Do you think the channel running beneath the Elven Bridge was carved by some great serpent? No! Not just one, but two rivers flowed through the city in its days of glory. In those times, the land was rich and alive with great trees. Fertile grasses carpeted the ground, thriving in the moisture that permeated the soil. Woodlands blanketed the land from the Crescent Forest, which was a swamp in those days, to the Forest Ridge. The people and animals lived in harmony with the land and fed on its abundant fruits. life was good. '“'Then the wars began. Ambitious, powerful men had discovered new secrets of magic. They perverted it to their will and gained vast powers without the studies and sacrifices of traditional, balanced magic. But, there was a cost, a terrible cost. The cost was life. Yes, life, and it was the land itself that paid it! The sorcererkings and their defiler lackeys drained the land of its life and used that life to fuel their unholy spells. Great forests were blasted into ash during their vicious battles. The plants withered and perished as their spirits were torn from them. The animals, their homes and food destroyed, soon perished as well. The very land rose in agony, and changed the face of the world. Famine and plague followed in the wake of the defilers. It was a dark time. The rivers still flowed, though their drainage systems had collapsed under the weight of the sorcerers'’'' battles. A vast swamp quickly filled the valley. Tyr became a refuge for those displaced by the war. Into this carnage, the Dragon ascended, and the surviving sorcerers sought to establish their own strongholds in the aftermath. Alas, Tyr fell once more to the ravaging hordes of the sorcerer-kings. The defilers needed plants to fuel their magic, you see, and they had stripped the land so relentlessly, that there remained only a handful of areas that still supported any life at all. These, in turn, were conquered by the sorcerer-kings, who destroyed the remaining foliage and drove the life-giving water deep underground. ''“'A new city was built on the carcass of the old, as it had been built on the ruins of the previous city. This is the Tyr we know today. The plants and animals that populate our world are the twisted descendants of their noble ancestors. They survive, like us, because they'’'ve adapted to the harsh, unforgiving world we'’'ve wrought upon ourselves. Still, the Elven Bridge stands, a mockery of the past and a hope for the future. This is Tyr'’'s bloody history, and if we cannot learn from it, this could well be our bloody future.'”''' '''Dote Mal Payne, Defiler, Former Necromancer to King Kalak ' Tyr is death, a city steeped in blood. Thousands died building the city, thousands more died defending it. Thousands disappear each year when the Dragon comes. Even more have died in the arena, blood-frenzied fans cheering them on to their deaths. Legions of displaced spirits inhabit Under Tyr and walk the abandoned underground streets . . . waiting! I have seen them! I know! The future of Tyr is the same as its history . . . Death! Category:Tyr